I was thirteen years old and was walking home from my friends house as she lived across the road from me. It was winter and already quite dark around 9.30 pm. The curfew set by my parents was 9.30 pm, so I know the time must have been just before.
Due to having lost my front door key several times before, my dad had refused to have any more cut for me. I had to take the back door key so I could let myself in the house. This meant that I had to go through the side gate and walk down a passage at the side of our house to get to the back door.
My parents' house was detached and the next door neighbour's kitchen window looked onto part of our back garden and the back door. On many occasions I would see our elderly, next door neighbour Mrs. Brown, not her real name, stand by the kitchen window, washing her pots. Mrs. Brown lived with her son, Paul, in his forties, and she was a little grey haired old lady that kept to herself.
On this night, as I walked down the side of my house and got ready to enter through our back door, I saw Mrs. Brown visibly through her kitchen window, washing pots as usual. On this occasion, she looked slightly different. It was almost like her son had fitted new light bulbs for her in her kitchen, as she seemed to be extremely lit up, almost glowing. I remember most of our back garden was flooded by this light. I only thought about this for a second or two as I glanced back. Then forgetting about it, I let myself in. After a quick good night to my folks, who were watching TV in the living room, I went to bed.
As it had been a Friday, I slept in quite late on Saturday. When I went downstairs my folks were in the kitchen and both were deep in conversation. As I entered the room I heard them mention Mrs. Brown. As I sat down with a drink, they told me that she had passed away yesterday. I was quite shocked and a bit sad. I said to my folks that I felt shocked and mentioned how weird it felt, knowing that she had died when I only saw her washing her pots last night on my way in.
At my words, my mum and dad looked quite puzzled at each other, and then what they said next made cold all over in an instant.
They said that I couldn't have seen her on my way in as Paul had discovered her body upon his return from work around 5 pm. This information shocked me to the core. I had seen Mrs. Brown washing pots at 9.30 pm! Several hours AFTER she had died. This explained the brighter light. A week or two later in conversation with another neighbour, I found out that she had been found in her chair, which I already knew, holding a tea towel.
As most of us say on here, did I see her? Or did I think I saw her because I had seen her there many a night before. Who knows? Scary stuff though!
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